LO: To explain the causes and effects of the flood and explain the management strategies that have been used on the river Derwent

SPECIFICATION TARGET: 2.2b the effects of river flooding on people and the environment.

A small market town

With a population of 7,877

1. A 'conveyor' of warm, very moist sub-tropical air was carried towards Britain

2. Warm air rises over the Cumbrian mountains, cools and condenses as heavy rain.

5. The River floods at the confluences in Cockermouth.

4. Heavy rain enters the river

3. The rain fell for 34 hours.

What else helped to cause the Cumbrian Floods?

• The ground was already saturated, so the additional rain flowed as surface run-off straight into the river

• The steep slopes of the Cumbrian Mountains helped the water to run very rapidly into the rivers

• The rivers Derwent and Cocker were already swollen with previous rainfall

• Cockermouth is at the confluence of the Derwent and Cocker (i.e. they meet there)

Information GCSE Case study AQA_A

Cumbria Floods 19th Nov 2009 (M.E.D.C. case study)

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Cockermouth, Cumbria

Effects

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iN5faen6s5g

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AyvNxypJZNo

The effects of the flood• ·Over 1300 homes were flooded and contaminated with sewage

• · A number of people had to be evacuated, including 50 by helicopter, when the flooding cut off Cockermouth town centre

• · Many businesses were flooded causing long-term difficulties for the local economy• · People were told that they were unlikely to be able to move back into flood-

damaged homes for at least a year. The cost of putting right the damage was an average

• of £28,000 per house• · Insurance companies estimated that the final cost of the flood could reach £100

million• · Four bridges collapsed and 12 were closed because of flood damage. In

Workington, all the bridges were destroyed or so badly damaged that they were declared

• unsafe – cutting the town in two. People faced a huge round trip to get from one side of the town to the other, using safe bridges

• · One man died– PC Bill Barker

Information GCSE Case study Revision AQA_A

GCSE questions may be about long term change or triggers that cause an event; plus immediate or long term consequences for groups; plus the possible responses to disaster.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/8398538.stm

The Cumbrian town of WORKINGTON was divided when floods destroyed its river crossings, killing a police officer, it has been re-united by a temporary footbridge. Workington's Barker Crossing, built by the Army, is named after Pc Bill Barker who died when Northside Bridge was washed away during last month's floods. The 170ft (52m) bridge across the River Derwent took a week to build. Schoolchildren were first to use the new crossing, to avoid a very long bus trip to school.

Cumbria Floods 19th Nov 2009 (M.E.D.C. case study)

It took Cockermouth residents, on average,

six months to move back into their homes and

even ONE YEAR LATER about 30 houses

remained unready for

their owners to return.

Table 1: Properties flooded by district and use.CUMBRIA Allerdale Barrow Carlisle Copeland Eden South Lakes

Residential 1,794 1,299 0 15 22 74 384

Commercial 445 422 0 0 0 5 18

www.cumbriaobservatory.org.uk/elibrary/Content/Internet/536/671/4674/4026717419.pdf

Of the 1,721 properties flooded in the Allerdale borough - 917 were in Cockermouth (pictured). Of these 691 were residential properties.

The total cost The total cost

Total damage cost: £276.5m

• Business and local economy: £129.2m• Property: £98.3m• Roads and bridges: £34m• Health and welfare: £12.9m

Worksheet GCSE Case study Revision AQA_A

Cumbria Floods 19th Nov 2009

(M.E.D.C. case study)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/cumbria/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8370000/8370332.stm

River Derwent (A597 bridge) at Workington

TASK – annotate this picture. You are on a committee of town planners and environment agency - How would

you prevent future flood damage.

STOP – Did you read the question? It says stop the damage NOT stop all future flooding! Have you thought about cost V benefits?

TASK – Describe the location of Cockermouth, Cumbria. You may wish to refer to direction &

distance. Use BOTH human and physical features.

…………………………….

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Cockermouth is close to

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Flowing west towards the

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During the previous week- 39mm (1.52in) fell on Monday - that is, during the 24 hours beginning at 9am on Monday - 61mm (2.39in) on Tuesday - 143mm (5.61in) on Wednesday - 247mm (9.71in) on Thursday.The prolonged steady downpour which triggered the flooding began at 2000 on Wednesday and ended, 34 hours later, at 0600 on Friday. In that relatively brief time, it deposited a total of 378mm (14.87in).It takes eight months for that much rain to fall in London.Major rainfall events in the UK, that trigger serious flooding, fall into several different categories, defined by intensity, longevity, & geographical area.

TASK – Read the paragraph about the rainfall that caused the 2009 floods. Draw a graph of the week’s

precipitation. What do the words prolonged, average, evaporation and saturated mean?

Worksheet 2 GCSE Case study Revision AQA_A

Cumbria Floods 19th Nov 2009 (M.E.D.C. case study)

TASK – Look at the sources.1. Why is Nov 2009 So unusual even in rainy Cumbria?2. Which letter (A,B,C,D) is camera viewpoint?3. What types of property have been flooded at X

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River Derwent hydrograph 19-11-09Red = flood event Nov’09

Black = mean annual maximum

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Responses to the flood

• The government provided £1 million to help with the clean-up and repairs and agreed to pay for road and bridge repairs in Cumbria·      The Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund was set up to help victims of the flood. It reached £1 million after just 10 days·      Network Rail opened a temporary railway station in Workington     The ‘Visit Cumbria’ website provided lists of recovery services and trades, and people who could provide emergency accommodation

Management of future floods at Cockermouth

• £4.4 million pound management schemeNew flood defence walls will halt the spread of the  riverFunding from Government and local contributorsRiver dredged more regularly to deepen the channel New embankments raise the channel height to reduce the likelihood of extra floodsNew floodgates at the back of houses in Waterloo street

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swt16ivKnrA&list=TLWmjNqbOAVcBKWgY-TljVG9zIRu-rMqE_

6 mark question

• For a chosen region, explain how the consequences (impacts) of flooding have been reduced.

STAFF NOTES GCSE Case study Revision AQA_A

Slideshow – sch comp won’t set up account to download LINKhttp://funkygeography.blogspot.com/2009/11/cumbria-floods.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/cumbria/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8368000/8368580.stm

Weather informationhttp://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/who/how/case-studies

Flood hyrdographshttp://www.ceh.ac.uk/news/news_archive/2010_news_item_47a.html